Confession: I’ve totally used this post title before. But I can’t really think of a better way to sum up the euphoric twelve days we spent in Panama’s Bocas del Toro archipelago. This laid-back Caribbean getaway is getting plenty of buzz these days thanks to its balance of ramshackle charm — you won’t find any five star chain hotels here — and traditional tourism draws like palm lined beaches, exotic wildlife, and azure waters.

In our twelve days we visited four islands, basing ourselves temporarily on three of them. While we had planned to settle into one spot for the full duration of our stay, we arrived to an endless row of “No Vacancy” signs and scrambled to piece together a Plan B. While our time was a bit more hectic as a result, we ended up with such a comprehensive view of this special part of the world I really think it was a fair trade off.

The largest and most developed of the islands is Isla Colon, which is also home to the provincial capital of Bocas Town. For many visitors, this is Bocas del Toro — and it’s not a bad view. Colorful guesthouses, dockside restaurants and bicycle traffic jams make up this traditionally Caribbean town.

After spending one night in an awful hostel (the only accommodation we could find upon arrival) we moved into , which I can’t recommend highly enough. It’s insanely popular, and rightly so. With cute clapboard rooms, a full kitchen, reasonably priced food and drinks, and a dock stocked with innertubes for just $32 a night, I was pretty much ready to move in. I was pretty crushed they only had three nights available for the entirety of our time in Bocas, so learn from my mistake and book ahead if you’re interested!

Our favorite part about Casa Verde was that we loved it so much we barely left. We just lazed in his-n-her hammocks, practiced Spanish with the sassy receptionist, floated in innertubes, cooked our own meals, and gave ourselves severe food poisoning.

Oh, right. That last one wasn’t the most idyllic of experiences. Once a year or so the universe likes to swoop in and remind me that I am a failure in all things domestic, and that when possible I should leave challenging tasks like cooking and laundry to the professionals. Otherwise I could end up turning an entire load of work uniforms pink, setting off the fire alarms for an entire apartment complex, or frantically researching the severity of undercooked-kidney-bean toxicity at 3am while barely clinging to life, just to cite some totally unspecific and non-personal examples.

Domestic disasters aside, Bocas Town gave us plenty of tempting reasons not to cook our own meals. Our absolute favorite was , which was notable not just for its deliciously healthy wraps and smoothies but also its, how shall we say, unique presentation. Once we got lucky and nabbed the best seats in the house — ocean views included. Other favorites include , where we splurged on an oceanfront dinner for Valentine’s Day (of which I spent the majority trying to explain to Anders the joy that is , obviously) and , which is quite accurately named. We also stocked up on all kinds of snacks at , which had an exciting array of imported goodies from home.

Tours and activities in Bocas are pretty pricey, and so while the Spanish lessons and yoga classes and hiking trips and boating expeditions and chocolate tours were all very loudly calling my name, we had to be picky. While we splurged on some excursions you’ll read about this week, we balanced them out with cheaper ones, like our bike ride out to Boca del Drago.

Boca del Drago, also known as Starfish Beach, can be reached by water taxi ($25 round trip) or land taxi ($30 round trip). Bikes, on the other hand, were a mere $7 per day — no extra charge for the 20 miles of round-trip cycling workout! The ride was quite a bit more difficult than we expected with plenty of hills, and cut clear across the length of Isla Colon.

The only thing that would have made the day better would have been visiting the La Gruta caves, which we cycled right past. Unfortunately we had forgot our headlamps and gave it a pass. Otherwise it is a very remote and rural ride, and it’s almost a shock to arrive in Boca del Drago and be met with the crowds there. The starfish were a bit scarce and we both agreed we wouldn’t have enjoyed the day half as much had we simply hopped in a taxi. The satisfaction of the sweaty ten mile ride in each direction was what really made it worthwhile.

Can you see yourself vacationing on Isla Colon? Stay tuned for our adventures on Cayos Zapatillas, Isla Bastimientos and Isla Carenero!

Practical Info

Where I stayed:Where I ate: , , , and were the standouts.How I got there: We paid $25 for a shuttle from Boquete to Bocas, including boat transfer, through Mamallena Hostel in Boquete. It took a few hours and saved us several bus transfers.Bonus Tip: Book ahead in high season, as the quality of accommodation ranges wildly and the good spots are snapped up fast. Bring a reusable water bottle in order to refill at the purifying stations around town — this is one of the few areas of Panama where you can’t drink from the tap, and bottled water is both wasteful and ridiculously expensive.

Enough already, just when I think Panama can’t get any better, you post something else AMAZING! I’m seriously taking notes for our potential (and more likely each time you post) trip in August. Thanks for all the tips, makes my job as our travel planner soooo much easier!Katie recently posted..

i have always, always wanted to visit bocas del toro. and now i feel like i seriously have to rethink my travel plans because panama is REALLY calling my name! also, your photographs are awesome. it really does look like a little sliver of paradise!Justine recently posted..

My bf has been saying he’ll go on a backpacking trip with me (he’s a 5 star hotel kinda guy- so it was like pulling teeth to get him to agree) I want to get to S.A. so bad and he wants to do it in Asia. I have a new game plan… I’m going to get him a little drunk and start showing him your blog pics until they put him in some kind of south america trance so that when he wakes up in the morning he’s been hypnotized and we can bliss out too.Rachel of Hippie in Heels recently posted..

I support you in this critical venture, Rachel! On one hand I totally understand your boyfriend’s attraction to Asia…. I’m obviously obsessed. But so far, Central America is the absolute runner up in my mind.

I hope Anders truly appreciated the awesomeness of Galentine’s day after your explanation! Anyway, looks heavenly…don’t think it’d taken me much imagination to see myself lounging on those beaches!Sam recently posted..

I looks so beautiful Meihoukai. A friend of mine is off there soon and can’t stop telling me so (grrrrr). I will pass this on to her as I think she will appreciate the tips.Jen Seligmann recently posted..

That beach water is crystal clear. Picturing myself there now. I went to Panama with family but was too young to remember the trip. Perhaps it’s time to finally make it back there.Melissa recently posted..

My husband and I are well over 40 and have a home in Bocas del Toro on one of the outer islands. We love it there for all of the reasons you have listed and more! So in answer to Dad’s question, yes there are plenty of people over the age of 40!

I was in Bocas a few weeks ago on the last leg of my Central American adventure, I really loved it there. I actually also stayed at Casa Verde, that place is amazing. It was nice to relive it again through this post, that place really is heaven on earth.

Oh, and also, everyone should try the Bocas Hot Sauce, it’s enough to blow your head off but damn, it’s good!

So I fell upon your blog while looking at diving options in Bali and have a few questions for you. If you could shed some light that’d be awesome. First a little about myself…I have spent the last three years living and teaching ESL abroad in SE Asia. However, I began my diving by getting my open water in Vietnam and just absolutely fell in love with it. I did fun dives in Cambodia, Malaysia and the Phillipines. I even did a SSI free diving course in Thailand. Well now I want to pursue my DM and on to instructor. Love to teach but hate the classroom setting. The ocean seems more my setting. I am currently in the process of taking my online course work with PADI for my advance and rescue. I’ve been in New Zealand for the last six months traveling and now back home in Louisiana seeing family and friends till August and then I’m hopping on a plane to Bali (never got to Indo while I was over there so I’ve had my heart set on checking it out). I’ve always been pretty lax with my travel plans, never really fully sussing out my destinations. Figured I would land and check out the dive shops from there, much like you did. Do you suggest Big Bubble as a reputable place? Good learning environment and top of the line instructors? Did you PADI or SSI? Also, how was finding a place to live over there? Easy or difficult task? My biggest question I have for you would be working over there. I would need to work for some extra income while doing my dive master. I am a certified esl teacher and have three years under my belt, however, everything I have read about working in Bali sounds like an utter nightmare with visas and untrustworthy operations. While living over there did you find many expats working? What kind of work seems available? Any light you could shed would be great. Keep on doing what you’re doing. Also nice to find someone with a passion for travel and underwater life.

Hey Brittany! First of all, congrats on your exciting life changes coming up! I did PADI and I found it was very easy to find housing on Gili Trawangan IF you don’t need internet. If you do, things are trickier. Did you check out all my posts on the island? I did a cost breakdown that explained the living situation pretty well.

Some expats are working admin in Gili at villas, restaurants and dive shops but to be honest it will be hard finding work immediately. Most of the people I knew working those jobs were semi-long term expats on the island and got the gig by knowing someone. As for picking a dive shop, things change so fast in the dive industry I really just recommend arriving on the island and walking into every school that interests you and seeing who you click with! Best of luck… sounds like you are in for an amazing ride.

Thanks for your detailed posts about Bocas Del Toro 🙂
I’m heading there in February and we booked two accomodations on Bastimentos. Both have very high ratings and unbelievable reviews. But now I’m wondering if we should have stayed half the time in Bocas Town. What do you think?

Do you think Bocas del toro would be a great place to do a dive instructor course? I’m looking for a place with a really youthful atmosphere with a great night life and obviously great diving! somewhere that I would never be bored. How would you say it would compare to places like Roatan/ Utila, Belize or Costa Rica?

Absolutely! It would definitely meet your topside requirements. Depending on your diving experience you might not be wowed by the dive sites but you’ll be busy focusing on your course anyway, and if you need some serious underwater excitement you can always make a trip to Santa Catalina for some five star diving. I haven’t dove in Belize or Costa Rica. Good luck deciding!

I'm a New York native who left my home to explore the world slowly and thoroughly. I’m just a little obsessed with photography, scuba diving, and reading guidebooks to countries I have no immediate plans to visit.